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It’s time for Americans to embrace small cars
(arstechnica.com)
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this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
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400 miles doesn't get you halfway across a single state in the western US.
I think you underestimate how many people never leave their home city
But it definitely gets you to the next fast charger to get an 80 percent charge in 10 minutes.
That's only relevant if you have a mythical car that can charge to 80 in 10 minutes. My car does it in about 90, the Solterra I almost bought has something like a 60 minute 10-80% charge time, and the fastest charging car on the market right now is the EV6 which is (IIRC) still 18 minutes to 80%.
Nevermind that the estimated 350 mile range in an ICE car is pretty spot on, where as a 250 mile range in an EV is best case scenario.
I own an EV, I think EVs are the future, but they're not there quite yet. Not completely, and not in a way that can compete with a RAV-4, CR-V, or Forester in terms of miles traveled and minutes spent filling up. And often, locations where you want to stop, aren't the same locations that have a fast charger.
You're right, the ten minute thing is a goal not a reality right now. But according to multiple sources 10-80 percent charging times range from 20-75 minutes. Unless you're on some kind of mad dash across the country that is short enough for road trips. For reference that's 225 miles before lunch; and 200 miles before and after dinner. At highway speeds of 70mph you're looking at 2 hours and 48 minutes between breaks. If you slow down to the old 55 mph recommendation for conserving energy then it's 3 hours and 40 minutes. Which neatly divides for two drivers avoiding highway hypnosis. (2 hour max shift)
Now I admit that this is theoretical, and more planning than most people do for road trips these days. But it is very doable to schedule meals during charging.
EV makers are doing what they did for mpg with gas cars: put out numbers for "ideal" charge times and range that are way off of reality.
To my knowledge the only one that's been caught straight up lying is Tesla.